Food and Sustainability: Communication, PR, and the Culture of Responsibility

by Martina Topic-Rutherford (Editor), Marija Geiger Zeman (Editor)

Overview

Understanding how food is communicated through media and campaigns is key to shaping sustainable food practices.

Food and Sustainability presents a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to food studies by gathering voices from communications, sociology, ethnology, and even fashion. This edited collection maps the intersections of food, sustainability, and responsibility, with contributions that analyse professional chefs, media portrayals, and food security issues. The first section explores the nuances of food sustainability in media, gender dynamics, and lived experiences, while the second focuses on how public relations advances a culture of responsibility across societal contexts—from health campaigns to corporate practices and educational efforts.

With its dual focus on empirical analysis and innovative methodologies, this study expands both theoretical and practical approaches to food communication in a changing world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781837080397
Publisher:	Emerald Publishing Limited
Publication date:	02/16/2026
Pages:	308
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x (d)

About the Author

Martina Topić-Rutherford is an Associate Professor in Public Relations Leadership at the University of Alabama, College of Communication and Information Sciences, Department of Advertising and PR, USA.

Marija Geiger Zeman is a Senior Research Scientist in Sociology at the Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar in Zagreb, Croatia.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Power of Sustainability and Promises of the Culture of Responsibility; Martina Topić-Rutherford and Marija Geiger Zeman
Communicating Food Matters
Chapter 1. Purity and Danger/Male and Female/Economy and Environment: Communication of Binaries Related to Food and Gender; Mirela Holy
Chapter 2. Creativity and Gender in the Cooking World: A Sociological Overview of (Un)creative Media Representation of Professional Chefs; Marija Geiger Zeman, Zdenko Zeman, and Geran-Marko Miletić
Chapter 3. ‘It Bugs Me’: Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern; Melissa Beattie
Chapter 4. Food as a Visual Practice: Fashion Design and Communication in Vegan Food Trends; Petra Krpan
Promoting Culture of Responsibility: Food and Public Relations
Chapter 5. ‘Go Easy with Bread, Eat Potatoes Instead’ – Food Rationing Behavioural Change Campaign of the UK Government (1940-1954); Martina Topić-Rutherford
Chapter 6. Savouring Truth: Exposing Disinformation in the World of Alternative Meats; Courtney D. Boman and Erika J. Schneider
Chapter 7. How Public Relations Can Provide a Socially Responsible Lens for Collective Management of Water Risks; Matthew S. VanDyke
Chapter 8. What’s the ‘Right’ Thing to do? How Ethical Expectations for CSR Influence Company Support; Lucinda Austin, Barbara Miller Gaither, and Seoyeon Kim
Chapter 9. Gen Z Insights on Food Waste Reduction, Yellow Sticker Shopping, and Sustainability Communication; Anca Anton
Sustainability in the Age of Climate Change
Chapter 10. Building Sustainable Futures: Food (In)Security and Sustainability as Flourishing in Higher Education; Megan K. Schraedley
Chapter 11. Fibs, Fiction, and Facts: The Visual Construction of Ocean Sustainability within the Context of the Climate Crisis; Grace Omondi and Anders Nilsen
Chapter 12. Developing a Public Relations Element in Climate Change UniversityCurricula: Challenges for Higher Education; Michal Chmiel

Editorial Reviews

This new book, Food and Sustainability: Communication, PR, and the Culture of Responsibility, edited by Topić-Rutherford and Zeman provides an innovative and comprehensive perspective to investigate the role of public relations and communication in shaping the culture of responsible and sustainable food consumption, an understudied area in public relations. The edition presents scholarly contributions from top scholars in the field of public relations on various topics related to sustainability and responsibility in the context of the global food system, ranging from food preparation, representation, consumption, and communication. More importantly, in an age crying out for responsible and sustainable communications and behaviors, chapters collected in this edition provide critical lenses across cultural, economic, social, and political boundaries to reflect the field’s latest studies and practices in an interesting and engaging style that help scholars, educators, professionals, influencers, policy makers, students and foodies grasp the complexities of the “missing” culture of responsibility in food development and consumption.

Juan Meng

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Food and Sustainability: Communication, PR, and the Culture of Responsibility. It’s a collection of some very interesting and scientifically robust articles that offer new insights in the fields of communication, PR, and social responsibility. This edited volume is a compelling and timely contribution to the interdisciplinary study of food, sustainability, and communication. The book brings together a diverse range of academic perspectives, offering insightful analyses of food as a socio-cultural, political, and environmental issue. The articles it included delve into specific themes, such as the gendered dynamics of professional cooking, the neocolonial undertones in food television, the ethical challenges in food-related public relations campaigns, and many others. I believe that the curation of these articles is excellent. The book’s biggest strength pertains to its ability to bridge theory and practice, making it relevant for both academics and practitioners. It is an excellent read and I highly recommend it for both researchers and practitioners.

Dr Ioannis Kostopoulos